Lacrosse tournament provides fitting tribute

The sport of lacrosse was just getting going in Temecula, and Nathan had an advantage over most of the kids he was competing against because he had started playing as a second-grader in Illinois. Also, he had a brother who was four years older so he had the experience of playing against older kids.

Jeff Powell gently shook his head as he recalled what it was like when Nathan went against kids his own age playing club lacrosse.

"It was always fun watching," he said chuckling.

But Linda Powell saw something else in those dominant moments. Her youngest son may have been a good player, she said, but he was a good teammate too.

"He was always a team player," she said. "Because he would pass the ball and and he didn't always take the shot. It just seemed like he had the brain for it, the brain for lacrosse."

Rohlin thinks Nathan would have been good at whatever he chose to do. And that his buddies would have followed suit.

"If he had decided that playing marbles was the greatest thing in the world, the group of friends that he had would all be playing marbles," Rohlin said. "Fortunately for us, he fell in love with lacrosse."

The pain from Nathan Powell's untimely death lingers. Linda Powell held folded Kleenex as she recalled her youngest son recently. Jeff Powell said he never even looked at the autopsy report. The official cause of death stated was natural causes.

"The death of a child -- it never gets any easier," Jeff Powell said. "Each day is different, that's all."

Cunningham, whose husband, Scott, is the boys junior varsity coach at Great Oak, said the decision shortly after Nathan's passing to name the tournament after him was "a no-brainer."

"It was just kind of obvious," she said. "It was something that we really had to do. ... Just something we had to do to honor his memory, because he loved lacrosse so much."

A lot of the kids that Nathan grew up playing with are now in the program at Great Oak. One of them is Alex Cunningham, Jan and Scott's son. He is a sophomore who made the varsity team this year.

With the tournament bearing his friend's name coming up, he talked about Nathan.

"It brings back good memories I always had with him," Alex Cunningham said.

Jeff and Linda Powell say they will be at the tournament, helping to solicit donations for the foundation and just pitching in where needed. Linda said she knows people will bring up Nathan.

"Funny, funny stories," she said.

The Powells will be back among the community they sought when they came here. That community of lacrosse players and parents and coaches that was there for them in the darkest of times is still there for them today.

"It's a great team sport and it's about the relationships," Jeff Powell said. "You don't have the guys that are 6-foot-10, but they're very skilled athletically.

"And I think a lot of those kids are very coachable and teachable. They're just good people. That's why we were drawn to it."